


Learn From The Stars

by youngghosts



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Clementine Has a Prosthetic Leg (Walking Dead), Curse AU, Death, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Girl Gangs, Monsters, Nightmares, Violence, aj loves soccer, and a tired murder daughter who also is a mother, but also like house renovations, but i know nothing about soccer, but they’re trying, clem is half korean!! you can rip half asian clem out of my dead fuckin hands, clementine is an artist, it be like that, louis’ parents suck wbk, mentions of depression and anxiety, monster au, of a concerned axe child, sometimes a family is a concerned dad, this is gonna be a fuckin mess, this is mostly for myself ngl
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:42:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24803317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youngghosts/pseuds/youngghosts
Summary: Clementine spent every second of every day dreading when the next sighting would come. It was all she could think about- death, death, death.There wasn’t much written that she could learn from- their lives didn’t normally last long, something that people used as a testament against her.“Don’t you see,” they told her, “you have a gift.”“You were chosen.”But she knew different. She knew better.Clem was cursed.— the curse/monster au that no one asked for, but i’m writing anyways— rated MA for themes of violence and language
Relationships: AJ | Alvin Jr. & Clementine (Walking Dead), AJ | Alvin Jr. & Lee Everett, Brody & Clementine (Walking Dead: Done Running), Clementine & Javier García, Clementine & Lee Everett, Clementine & Ruby (Walking Dead: Done Running), Clementine & Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running), Clementine/Louis (Walking Dead: Done Running), Lee Everett & Kenny, past Clementine/Gabriel
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	Learn From The Stars

Clementine went over the lists she had made again, double checking, then triple checking, the image of handwriting contrasting against Lee’s providing a familiar comfort. Sure, the cause behind the list was fucking her up, but the _possibilities_ of it-

No. She wouldn’t get caught up on those.

A lot was riding on this, and a lot could happen, and a lot could get fucked up too easily.

If she wasn’t careful.

But she was always careful.

She checked the list again. It was hard, her only light source now being the streetlights and signs passing by, and those were becoming more and more infrequent by the mile. But it didn’t matter- she had these memorized by now.

_(She’d have to rewrite the grocery list by category tomorrow. It’s always easier for them to navigate new stores by category.)_

_(They should buy new boots for AJ before the seasons change.)_

_(Need more journals.)_

The sound of the radio being clicked off drew her out of her trance.

“Hey, you look like you’re a million miles away. You still with me?” Lee’s voice filled the void that the radio left, the warmth radiating off him contrasting against the air conditioning.

She didn’t know why they had to move North. She hated the cold.

Well, that’s not true. She knew why. She just didn’t like it.

_(They’re not used to winters like this. They need way more blankets.)_

“I’m still with you,” she managed to close the journal in her hands, but couldn’t find it in herself to let go of it just yet. “It’s just….a lot to take in. Especially with...everything,” she rubbed the back of her neck, “You know me-“

“Hate being unprepared.” Lee finished her sentence, looking over at her. There was silence for a moment, only AJ’s snores and the vents left to fill the silence.

The knot in her chest was tight, but knowing that AJ was getting rest was enough to take her off edge at least.

He needed more rest. They all did.

She picked at the thread hanging loose from her jacket sleeve.

_(Get new jacket. Or fix this one.)_

“I know this is for the best,” she started, glancing over at Lee, “but I don’t-“ she broke off her sentence to let out a loud sigh, rubbing her hand across her face. It wasn’t enough to fight off the tension, but it was a start. “Is it really the best? To give him a house, tell him it’s home, and then rip it all away when I fuck everything up again?”

The silence was deafening this time, cutting through even the background sounds. It was too thick. Too tense. She felt like it was suffocating her.

She clicked her pen, opening the journal once again. She needed to write down these notes for tomorrow before they left her head. _(Or before something worse took their place.)_

She wrote all of the notes down except that one.

“You don’t.” She looked up at the sound of Lee’s voice to find him already looking back at her, “You don’t fuck everything up, okay? No matter what anyone tells you. No matter what _you_ tell you.” He looked back over to the road, “I’m not letting anyone talk that way about my girl.”

Clem gave a smile at that, “Hasn’t stopped anyone before.”

That caused him to look back over, “Who? Gabe?”

Her smile shattered, _‘No, don’t let him get to you. Not now.’_

She shoved her feelings back down, hoping it wasn’t noticed. “Please, just because he’s on the list doesn’t mean he _is_ the list.”

“Oh, you have a list now?”

“Yep.”

“Is it a physical one?”

“Do you want it to be?”

“Depends. You know their addresses?”

Clem burst out laughing, forgetting that AJ was asleep in the backseat.

They shot a glance over to the sleeping child (yep, still snoring) before looking back at each other. Lee was attempting (and failing) to keep a smile from spreading across his face.

“There it is. There’s that big sunshine smile of yours. I was wondering when it was going to come out again. It’s been gloomy for too long without it.”

He didn’t try to hide his smile this time, but it was softer. _Homey._

She didn’t realize how much she missed it until it was gone.

_But it was back now._

“Sorry I’ve been so….out of it….recently.” She went back to picking at the loose thread on her jacket, seemingly lost in recapping the many months that have gone by.

“Hey, hey, none of that. You never have to apologize to me- not for anything, and especially not for that. I’m just glad you’re making it through okay.”

“Okay is…...relative. But I’ll manage.”

The car took a left, and Clementine could see lights in the distance. She was glad- she hated the dark.

“You’d tell me if it was getting bad again, right?” He knew she would. She knew that he knew she would. But he still had to ask.

“The second I know, you know.”

He gave her a single nod, and turned all of his focus back on the road.

“I know this will be good for us. AJ can go to kindergarten, you’ll have a stable job while actually doing something you love, we can have holiday dinners again-“

“But?”

_But it’s going to end badly._

_But we’re going to die._

_But AJ will get hurt._

_But I’ll let you down again._

_But I don’t wanna lose you._

_But I don’t want to lose another home._

_I don’t want to lose anything else._

She swallowed hard, ignoring the feeling of her throat closing up. She was _choking._ She was going to suffocate from these feelings alone.

“But nothing. This is going to be good for us.”

Lee glanced over at her, searching her face for...something.

He nodded, “This is going to be good for us.”

**Author's Note:**

> I’m going to be completely honest- this is my first time writing for this fandom and I’m (more than) slightly worried about it, but if I don’t post this then I will never post this. 
> 
> As for the story- things will go well before they go horribly- but don’t you worry!! The other shoe will drop eventually- even Clementine knows that.


End file.
